Former UFC title contender laments about man being jailed for refusing to use gender-neutral pronouns

Jake Shields is a former UFC title challenger and Strikeforce middleweight champion whose combat sports career spanned three decades. But aside from his elite fighting skills, he is an avid and controversial social commentator online.

Most recently, Shields highlighted the fact that a school teacher was jailed after he refused to use gender-neutral pronouns. The former UFC title contender expressed disappointment at the situation, tweeting the following:

"A man sits in jail for properly gendering his students instead of using made up pronouns. The West has fallen."

The issue of addressing people through the correct pronouns has become a more regular occurrence as ideologies regarding gender identity continue to grow. It is clear which side of the fence Jake Shields sits on in this argument.

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Former UFC title contender Jake Shields speaks on the progression of Gordon Ryan's jiu-jitsu game

Former UFC title contender Jake Shields is a well-established name in the Brazilian jiu-jitsu community, having competed at the biggest tournaments in the world since 2005. He currently trains in Austin, Texas, under the tutelege of John Danaher.

Danaher is arguably the greatest mind in jiu-jitsu today, and has developed a unique leglock-system that he has engrained into his students. Even his lower belt pupils are often seen defeating black belts with relative ease, such as Nicky Rodriguez, who finished second at the ADCCs in 2019 as a blue belt.

Gordon Ryan also trains under Danaher at New Wave Jiu-Jitsu, and 'The King' is widely regarded as the greatest no-gi grappler of all time. Ryan has been training for UFC Fight Pass Invitational 3, a no-gi submission grappling tournament which takes place on December 15.

Jake Shields has been a consistent training partner for 'The King' in the buildup to the event, and said this about the evolution of his jiu-jitsu game during Ryan's UFC Fight Pass vlog series:

"The first time I trained with him he was an extremely tough purple belt, but I didn't realize he would be at the level he's at. About a year later I came back and trained with him, and I was like, 'Wow, this kid is gonna be the best.' Then a year past that he was the best 2 or 3 in the world, and after that, at least 5/6 years he's been the best in the world."

Watch the interview below: